.jpg) Walker (now Subramaniam) in 2020 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Angela Gaye Walker |
| Born | (1967-03-19)19 March 1967 (age 58) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Height | 166 cm (5 ft 5 in) (at the 1988 Olympics) |
Spouse | |
| Gymnastics career | |
| Sport | Rhythmic gymnastics |
| Country represented | New Zealand |
Angela Gaye Walker (married nameSubramaniam; born 19 March 1967) is aNew Zealand writer and formerrhythmic gymnast. She competed at the1988 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal and three bronze medals at the1990 Commonwealth Games.
Walker was born inAuckland on 19 March 1967.[1] Her father, Ian Walker, served in theRoyal Air Force andBomber Command duringWorld War II and was a prisoner of war.[2]
Walker began rhythmic gymnastics at age 9 after a friend who was in the sport told her about it.[3] She qualified internationally for the1984 Summer Olympics, but due toNew Zealand Olympic Committee policies, she was not sent.[4]
Ahead of the1988 Summer Olympics, she went to train inMoscow with some of the best gymnasts in the world. Walker noted the intensity of training and the skill of the gymnasts she trained with, but she also said that many of those gymnasts did not enjoy rhythmic gymnastics, as she did. The experience helped her realize that she while she was unlikely to medal at the Olympics, she was content with being healthy and training by choice.[4]
Walker was on a flight when the 1988 Olympic team was announced, and she was told by the pilots that she was the only gymnast to be selected for the Olympic team. As of 2024, she is the only New Zealander rhythmic gymnast to compete at the Olympics.[4] In therhythmic gymnastics individual all-around competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, she tied for 32nd place in the preliminary (qualification) round and did not advance to the final.[1]
Although she originally intended to retire after the Olympics, the1990 Commonwealth Games were being held in her hometown of Aukland, so Walker decided to continue training for another 15 months.[5] At the Games, she won a gold and three bronze medals.[6] Walker said later that she appreciated the approach of her coaches, as she finished her gymnastics career healthy and still enjoying gymnastics.[4]
In 1995, Walker married Kannan Subramaniam, a doctor.[2] They have a son, Sachin.[7] She continues to be involved in high-performance sport.[8]
Walker has written biographies of her father, published in 2017, andDame Yvette Williams (2022).[8]
